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5.0 from 6 votes

Slow Cooker Beef and Barley Soup

Hearty and delicious slow cooker beef and barley soup - the ultimate comfort food.

Prep Time
10 mins
Cook Time
8 hrs
Total Time
8 hrs 10 mins
Servings: 6 servings
Course: Soup

Ingredients

  • 700 g | 1.5lbs beef shin cut into small cubes
  • 100 g | 3.5oz pearl barley
  • 3 carrots peeled and finely diced
  • 2 celery sticks peeled and finely diced
  • 2 leeks white parts only, finely diced
  • 2 shallots peeled and finely diced
  • 2 tbsp tomato puree
  • 1 large floury potato peeled and cubed
  • 1 tbsp plain flour
  • 1 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1/2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce 
  • 1 tsp dried mixed herbs thyme, oregano
  • 1 1/2 litres | approximately 6 cups hot beef stock made with 1-2 stock cubes
  • salt and freshly ground pepper to season
  • handful flat leaf parsley chopped, to garnish
  • olive oil to fry

Instructions

    Cup of Yum
  1. Add the flour onto a plate and season liberally with salt and pepper.
  2. Toss the beef cubes to coat in the flour.
  3. Heat a little olive oil in a large non-stick frying pan. Fry the beef cubes, in batches, until lightly browned. Transfer to your slow cooker.
  4. Fry the carrots, celery, leeks, shallots and potato over medium heat until slightly softened.
  5. Stir in the tomato purée, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, dry herbs and transfer everything to the slow cooker.
  6. Add the stock and pearl barley and stir well. Cover and cook for 8 hours on low setting.
  7. Serve garnished with a little chopped parsley and crusty bread on the side. Thin the soup with a little water if necessary before serving.

Notes

  • Vary the vegetables according to what's in season. Squash, parsnips, sweet potatoes are all great additions.Make sure you leave a bit of space at the top of your slow cooker as the barley will thicken as it cooks.